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I get why people get a little drunk over the idea of adding his bat. That's fine, but keep in mind that when you need him, he won't be there. He missed games for drinking too many energy drinks. Nolan Ryan hinted that he didn't deal well with quitting chewing tobacco. He quit on his team last year and blamed sinus issues. His slump last year wasn't a slump, it was a lack of effort.

I don't know that Texas wanted him gone, I really think Texas doesn't really know his price either. I'm sure they'll make him an offer outside of just the qualifying offer eventually. Their first priority is to get pitching (probably try for Grienke) and if that doesn't happen, then Hamilton may be next.

He didn't really quit on the team either. He had a bad time for a slump. There's no rhyme or reason why players start to slump, and he had his at a bad time. Sure he may have picked bad time to quit chewing tobacco, but he was quitting something that's a known cause of cancer. You can't really blame him for doing that. And he drank too many energy drinks because that was helping him stay off the tobacco. Again, maybe not the smartest thing, but I strongly doubt he did it because he didn't care about his team.

I don't know that Texas wanted him gone, I really think Texas doesn't really know his price either. I'm sure they'll make him an offer outside of just the qualifying offer eventually. Their first priority is to get pitching (probably try for Grienke) and if that doesn't happen, then Hamilton may be next.

He didn't really quit on the team either. He had a bad time for a slump. There's no rhyme or reason why players start to slump, and he had his at a bad time. Sure he may have picked bad time to quit chewing tobacco, but he was quitting something that's a known cause of cancer. You can't really blame him for doing that. And he drank too many energy drinks because that was helping him stay off the tobacco. Again, maybe not the smartest thing, but I strongly doubt he did it because he didn't care about his team.

They guy had an excuse for everything. It's looking like maybe you were writing them for him.

Bottom line, he didn't show up for work when his team needed him the most.

Well then good thing we got rid of that waste of space Prince Fielder. The dude has a lifetime .183 batting average in the playoffs. He's terrible.

Hamilton played poorly at the end of the season this year and he still hit .285 with 43 homers and 128 rbi. How is that a horrible player. Sure he's not worth 7/$175, but its not like he's some scrub that doesn't care about the team. He had a slump at a horrible time.

I didn't notice anyone calling him terrible, horrible or a scrub. Little defensive.

To name Prince is the exact opposite of my argument. Prince didn't take himself out in the middle of a game because he had a headache. Prince didn't miss games for drinking too many energy drinks. Many people want to claim that Prince didn't take good care of himself but he must have been doing something right to play that hard and still show up every day.

Everyone has their own theory on breaking out of slumps. I personally wouldn't swing at every pitch I'd see. I could see how people would get down on a player that strikes out his first three appearances on ten pitches. Others would say that being aggressive is the best way to break out. To each his own.

I suppose I misinterpreted your assessment that he's not worth more than $1mill as you thinking he's garbage. And how is Prince the exact opposite of your argument. Keep in mind this is the same Prince Fielder who quit eating meat before one season, then proceeded to start off very slow and I believe that was the year he went his longest time without hitting a home run. Was that not being a team player?

And he took himself out of the game because he was dizzy and couldn't see. I don't care who you are, if your vision is blury, you shouldn't be in a baseball game. Even if you're Ryan Braun, you're hurting the team by trying to play when you can't see.

And the slump thing is ridiculous. Like you said, everyone has a different strategy on hitting and breaking out of slumps. Look at Rickie Weeks, he's pretty much at his worst when he's sitting their taking a bunch of pitches like he did when he was leading off. Each hitter is their own person. Some guys need to be aggressive otherwise they'll be terrible. Other guys would rather wait until they get their pitch, even if that means striking out swinging. And Hamilton's hitting strategy must not be that bad since he's won an MVP and hit .285 with 43 homers last year. He must be doing something right, but unfortunately everyone goes through slumps.

He's not worth more than $1M because he can't be counted on to show up for work. I'd rather spend the money on guys without his baggage. Injuries are a concern but there are also whispers about work ethic. Neither of us can judge that because we aren't around him. All I'm saying is where there is smoke, there is usually fire.

I have no issue with his production. The point was that people had concerns with his work ethic when he started to struggle. You weren't there and neither was I. Again, my take is that it wouldn't be questioned if there wasn't something to it. Feel free to disagree but don't claim that I have an issue with 43 homer a year.

Again, Prince is not a decent comparison. I don't recall Melvin or Attanasio making a claim Prince's production fell off because he wasn't eating meat. If you read my comments, you'll notice that I never claimed he wasn't a team player for quitting tobacco. Simply that "Nolan Ryan hinted that he didn't deal well with quitting chewing tobacco."

He did quit in the middle of a September game and blamed a sinus headache. A headache. Not dizziness, not blurred vision. A headache. The dizziness and blurred vision he claimed was from too many energy drinks and came early in the season. Maybe Prince made a poor choice with his health quitting meat, but he still showed up each day. Hamilton, not so much. I don't understand how that is arguable. Feel free to argue my comments but that only. I don't care for the twisting of words.

But when have Melvin and Attanasio ever really made comments negative comments about players. That's not their style at all. Nolan Ryan is a little more outspoken. I can't buy that he's not worth a decent contract because he took himself out of one game during a playoff run. He also was a big part of them getting to two straight World Series too.

Also, if you read the interview in October with Ryan, he doesn't think Hamilton quit on the team. He still maintains that he wasn't a fan of Hamilton's timing on quitting the chewing tobacco, but that's about it. And its not like the Rangers don't want him back. They are pursuing him, its just they aren't going to blow him away with can't miss offer. They'll wait till the market develops.

"Josh is a special talent and sometimes you have to let Josh figure it out himself," Adams told "Inside Pitch" on Sirius XM's MLB Network Radio this week when asked about Hamilton's personality and struggles at the end of the season. "He's a different guy sometimes. Every day you hope that Josh comes to the ballpark, shows up and plays like Josh Hamilton.

"Sometimes he shows up and you don't know which Josh is going to show up at the ballpark. It's nothing to be negative about toward Josh; that's just the way it is. That's what you get with Josh."

"You want to see a guy like him succeed just with the past that he's gone through, but as far as if he'll be a Texas Ranger, I don't know," Adams said. "I don't know what's going to happen. I'm not sure if it's in the best interest of the Texas Rangers or not. That question is so hard. It's a difficult question to answer."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

I'm curious to see just how interested the Rangers are. Last week a report came out that they would only go three years followed by Ryan saying that they wouldn't wait on him. Combine those two and it made the Rangers sound uninterested while trying to say all the right things. This week the asst GM denied the report. I'm guessing there is truth in both reports. There probably isn't a written plan saying they won't go past a certain length, but I'm sure that Daniels has a limit in mind.